Capricious Thought
by Oceanbreeze7
Summary: Five times Tony Stark unknowingly acted like Loki, and one time he knew. All Avengers featured.


**Hey! I've seen quite a few of these scattered throughout the web, so i thought to do one of these on my own.**

**The prompt is soley mine, because i can't find those dang prompts on this site!**

**Sorry if anyone is ooc**

* * *

x-(X 1 X)-x

There was a reason why Tony Stark hated Loki to a certain degree.

Looking at the slender God- he could see no relations whatsoever to anyone he knew, perhaps if he cared to look closer he would notice.

Perhaps he would notice the sharp edges of his cheek bone as his jaw was always clenched, holding back a silver tongue that had the words that rivaled his own, perhaps he could have seen the jade eyes that watched lazily, slyly absorbing all information in the area.

The only thing Tony Stark _did _notice was the fashion and reaction Loki had to certain events.

He noticed how a calm complexion could turn to steady rage with a few thoughtless words- or how a carefully fitted mask hid all thoughts except a rather dark exterior that instinctively brought fear.

Clint Barton, after recently being freed from Loki's control had met the other Avengers, mind still foggy as he tried to recollect all events he made or destroyed- trying to figure out why the SHIELD base was smoking and missing part of its left wing.

He walked onto the bridge, Natasha at his side to fend off the harsh glares of the other SHEILD operatives that dared question him being on the ship.

Clint knew of Tony Stark, he had heard of him from the reports, Natasha joking with him after her mission to work for him, recruit him for the cause.

He was fully expecting an ass to be honest. From the way Natasha had described him, he should be cocky, arrogant and not caring of others. Walking in and hearing Tony Stark angrily glaring at a certain soldier Clint recognized as Steve Rodgers, Captain America, just filled his thoughts of him.

"What's wrong?" Natasha asked in the silence that spread between the two, glaring at each other from opposite ends of the table, before Stark pulled a phone out of some unknown space, Clint having noticed the face that he was wearing a rather famous suit.

"Agent Coulson died. Loki got him." Steve mumbled, breath hitching slightly.

Natasha stiffened, as did Clint, having known the man well. Dead? Impossible that Agent could get away with anything- impossible situations and still live.

"I'm going to kill that bastard." Clint swore, eyes hardening as he thought of everything Loki had done- the fog receding slightly just for his mind to replay a horrible sharp laughter that drove him to the point of wanting to stab an arrow in his own temple.

"Don't we all want to, Robin Hood." Stark growled, a reflection from the picture frame behind Stark showing that the phone he was 'playing with' actually had its screen off, him only listening to the conversation.

"…Did you know Agent Coulson?" Clint couldn't help but asking, mentally wanting to shoot himself as he noticed the smallest of wavers in Tony's hand as he stored the phone, never actually turning it on.

The sharp brown eyes met his- and Clint couldn't help but flinch slightly, the laughter in his head receding momentarily as a certain familiarity of intelligence looked back. He noticed the mask that Stark had constructed for reasons unknown to him, and he saw as the mask broke slightly, leaving anger and sorrow on his face before the mask was back, making his face emotionless- the sharpness back in his eyes.

"Yeah, good man. Idiot- for taking on a god I mean. Should have taken someone with him- complete idiot." Stark mumbled, getting up abruptly before making his way past Clint, who was completely stiff, shoulders brushing against the metal plating momentarily before Stark had left.

"Tasha-" Clint started, voice thick as his comrade next to him sighed, knowing his exact reason for distress.

"Don't worry- he always has one." She sighed, referring to the mask she too had seen crack.

_'So does Loki' _Clint did not speak, mentally whispering it to himself.

x-(X 2 X)-x

It was months after the Loki business when everything seemed to have calmed down. A few people burst in here and there- Clint and Natasha off doing assassin stuff, Bruce and Tony in the lab, and Steve out on the roof sketching the city skyline.

However, there were days, when one of them managed to do something that attracted the eyes of the paparazzi.

In Clint and Steve's defense, the whole reason why this had to happen was because some small business decided to try and sue the group do to them busting his restaurant in an invasion of aliens that looked surprisingly like pickles. Steve was doing his best to draw them into the building before escaping and allowing his teammate to send an explosive arrow in to destroy the nasty little vegetables and blow the place sky high.

Of course, SHEILD paid for the man to buy a new business and relocate to Nevada. Nevada was apparently hoping more Italian restaurants would come in- not that Steve had any objections.

The news of the suing had spread, causing the five of them (Thor having to stay in Asgard for some court business) to sit in stiff backed chairs while cameras flashed at a nonstop interval, microphones pressed in their faces recording even the uneven breathing of the group. Bruce out of everyone seemed the most uneasy, face slightly pale while he constantly wrung his hand, trying his best not to freak out at the close proximity and the shouting jumble of questions he could not pick apart from the others. Steve himself felt overwhelmed at the flow of people, each asking him something that cut off the question of another reporter.

"Silence!" Stark shouted, rising to his feet suddenly and the silence so deafening that the end of his movement Steve could hear the sound of his chair scraping across the flooring.

"I will be the spokesperson of the Avengers at this time- you in the hat." Stark declared, pointing at a blonde haired reporter who rushed forward.

"Sure this is a smart idea?" Steve whispered to Bruce who sighed.

"Natasha told me Tony is a businessman and great with the press- I've never seen him in action." Bruce whispered back, causing anxiety to flutter in Steve's chest.

"Shoot." Tony nodded to the flustered reporter who thrust her microphone up into his face.

"If this is the first accident due to the Avenger's interference who is to say this will not be the last time?" She hurriedly asked. Steve's breath hitched, slightly alarmed at the question. Tony seemed unfazed.

"Uh, yes Mrs.-"He left off letting her fill it in.

"Bekerly." He added and he nodded.

"Well then, Mrs. Bekerly. The Avenger's were created for the sole purpose of defending the peace and the lives of the world. The occasional problem of broken property can be restored, however lives cannot be." He smoothly recovered, however she frowned, expecting the response.

"Funny words coming from a previous weapons manufacturer." He dared state, and Bruce alarmed glanced at Tony, seeing at how he would respond.

"Very funny actually."

"Aren't you a joker, Mr. Stark?"

"Actually I am."

"And your new nickname, the Iron Weapon?"

"Not the worst one I've had." He smoothly added, and Steve noticed the woman becoming swiftly frustrated with the way he was able to evade the questions she threw at him.

"Do you care to tell us why it doesn't seem to matter to you?"

"No actually- you, Blue eyes, Shoot." He shrugged off the girl, looking at the older man who had a notepad with him.

"Yes, Jackson sir, - Many of the citizens do not feel safe while the monster known as 'The Hulk' destroys property." He commented, Steve meeting a scowling Bruce's' eye, however Tony blinked, already responding.

"I will have you know, that the 'monster' is one of the whole purposes that this world is not invaded from hostile threats."

"Then with our world in the balance, you argue over one monster?" The reporter shot back with the grin of a hungry vulture.

Tony chuckles, leaning back against the podium he sat at, flicking the cap of water he was momentarily toying with as he responded in an almost carefree way.

"With the world in the balance you wouldn't dare ask these questions. You're pathetic, wanting to ruin one life for the favor of the press? What's better, ratings or people living?" Tony smoothly shot back, and Steve couldn't help but think of another who seemed to say words just as smoothly…

"Capri Sir- Does that mean that you will be going against the wishes of the people?" A lady in the back shouted, jumping to be seen above the heads of the other.

"The people decide what they want themselves. But I'm as sure as hell that they don't want you bloodying our name over a small problem of a busted burger joint. We're done here." Tony stated, turning and walking as the other Avenger's hurried after like they were his puppies- ignoring the blinding camera flashes.

Steve swallowed behind the confident black suited inventor- as much as he hated to admit it, at times, Tony reminded him of Loki a bit.

x-(X 3 X)-x

It was part of a weekly training schedule when the Avengers met up in the fitness room of the Avengers Mansion or Tower, depending on how you wanted to call it.

Natasha was currently going strong against Steve, his strength and weight providing him help, but with Natasha she had training and speed on her side. Bruce was in the corner, doing an Indian version of Yoga to make himself 'as happy as a hippy' as Tony stated, Clint was up in the rafters, making his way across in his own version of an obstacle course as Natasha had helped design. Thor was still on Asgard, some troubles there once again.

Steve yelped as he was pinned to the ground while Natasha had her legs wrapped around his neck, hands on his head, ready to twist and break his neck. Giving a smirk she flipped off of him, leaning against the edges of the boxing ring while reaching for her water bottle that stood up on a post.

"Hey Stark- want to go a few rounds?" Steve called over to Tony, who was oddly leaning back reading a decently thick book.

"Nah, nice and comfy over here." He rolled off, turning a page of his book the same time that he flexed his back, a few cracks of his spine betraying how long he had been lounging on the bench, reading the book.

"Why not Stark? Afraid Cap's going to take you down?" Clint asked, hanging by his feet five feet above their heads.

"Keep dreaming bat-boy." Tony shouted back, noticing the odd position Clint was in. Clint scowled and crossed his arm at the nickname, the bottom of his shirt rising away to hang, and he quickly used one arm to pin it to his body, ignoring his hair which hung in the air.

"Don't hang like that too long or you'll lose the brain cell you have left." Tony shouted up as Clint started to hang by only one leg.

"You're just jealous!" Clint shouted back, swinging away while Natasha shook her head.

"Why don't you fight Steve? You've been reading for hours." Natasha noted, and Tony ignored her- only stopping when Steve walked up and personally took the book from his lap.

"there." He stated, satisfied with his job.

"You just took my book- you don't just take my book." Tony stated, blinking as he was yet to overcome the surprise on what just happened. Bruce snorted in the corner, still looking like a meditating yoga instructor excluding the one opened eye that showed obvious mirth.

"Come on! What's wrong with a friendly match?" Steve- although he would never admit it- whined, pulling lightly on the man's hand.

Tony frowned, retrieving his book and opening it to a page Steve knew was random.

"What could be so important that you need to read rather than train?" Natasha asked, sitting balanced on the corner of the boxing ring.

"If you must know Raggedy Ann- it's a book on _Mythology." _He stressed out the word, the room silent for a moment before Clint snorted loudly in the rafters. Bruce himself even turned way to hide his laughter.

"It's _Loki Mythology."_ Tony explained, stopping the amused laughter as they now understood.

"Hey- reading about him isn't going to stop him Stark. Go a few rounds- if you get better fighting then you can take him down."

"Or get our asses kicked." Tony snidely commented, flipping ahead a few hundred pages to get to where he originally was.

"One fight won't hurt you Tony." Clint tried from the rafters, getting an annoyed look from the inventor.

"Shut it Legolas- I'm _reading, _you should try it out sometime."

"Shut it Sta-"

"Boys!" Natasha shouted, glaring at the two before she crossed her arms, looking at Tony with an annoyed look in her eye.

"Tell me, why is it _so _important to know about Loki?" She sighed, and Tony's eyes lit up at the chance to explain.

"If we know about him, we can beat him. Here- it says that Loki and Thor once had another brother named…Balder, and Loki tricked a blind dude into shooting him with a Mistletoe arrow and killed him!" Tony exclaimed, looking smug while Clint lifted an eyebrow.

"So we shoot Loki with a mistletoe arrow?"

"No it doesn't work like th- Look…here, Loki once crashed a party and killed a guy there named…Fimafeng."

"Stark, we're supposed to capture the guy, not sign him up for Dr. Phil."

"Shut it Robin Hood! You don't get it! None of you do!" Tony snapped angrily, looking back at his book and reading angrily. Natasha sighed, leaning against the post and daring to read.

"What don't we get, Stark?" She sighed- she didn't have _time _for this.

"Knowledge is power. The more we know, the more we can stop him. Each of these legends have truth in them- and even the smallest weakness we can use against him- we can find his deepest darkest secret, something he hates or is ashamed of and mentally break him! He'd never bother us again after that! He would be weak!" Tony exclaimed, and he scowled, getting up and storming off as no others seemed to understand what he was saying.

Natasha understood- and she noticed the similarities.

Tony looked in books for dark secrets, Loki looked in a person, and they were aiming to do the same thing.

Late at night when Stark had long since passed out with a bottle of Vodka- Natasha grabbed that book of his, and tossed it into the fireplace.

He didn't ask for it back.

x-(X 4 X)-x

Thor had arrived- Thunder didn't often crack in broad daylight, not to mention a broken window and Tony nearly having a heart attack.

They were lazily spread out among the rather large living room, mostly sharing the chairs and futons, in exception to Thor who 'claimed' an entire cream couch for himself.

"So- how's Asgard?" Steve asked, sitting on a Futon with Bruce next to him- his feet up on the arm of the Sofa Tony was sprawled out on.

"Oh! Asgard is well! Lady Sif and The Warrior Three slain a Fire Drake in my absence- they tell me it was most glorious!" Thor boomed loudly, a large smile that caused a few to feel uncomfortable with.

"Right, well Beef Cakes, we've been attacked by walking pickles, and stopped a large mutated Flipper from taking over San Diego." Tony drawled lazily, using a remote to flick through channels lazily.

"A mutated flipper? I do not understand- was the rest of the creature unharmed?" Thor frowned, Clint snorting in the background as Tony swapped from the horror channel which previously held a screaming girl.

"No Thor- it's a nickname of a dolphin on this planet." Bruce explained, casting an apologetic look at the god, who didn't seem that upset.

"Ah! A midgardian creature! Is it frightening?"

"Yeah- it'll cuddle you to death." Clint muttered, sitting in a Recliner chair as Natasha was perched on the arm.

Tony flipped he channel, watching bored before he sat up suddenly, knocking Bruce's legs off of his couch and he smirked.

"Jarvis- turn up the sound." He commanded, the news reporter's voice suddenly heard.

_"-ast night. Eyewitnesses state, that at 11 PM, the smell of leather was strong in the air, as well as the smell, as what people described 'a wet dog'."_

"A wet dog? How do you get a smell like that in a room?" Steve asked in surprise, noticing the very amused look in Tony's eyes with alarm.

_"Following after, an ice sculpture melted in minutes, before the fire alarms and sprinklers went off. Here we go to Cindy on channel 3 with a live witness- Cindy?"_

"An ice sculpture melted in minutes?" Bruce asked with surprise, Clint smirking at the outcome while Thor looked pleasantly confused.

_"Oh it was awful! The noise was so loud! And the water started ruining my hair! Ugh, I spent hours on my hair! And my make-up! It was RUINED!" _A rather stuck up lady bawled, this time managing to make Clint fall into loud Guffaw's of laughter while Bruce took a few chuckles. A smile on Natasha's face while Steve just shook his head, laughing faintly.

_"Any ideas on how this happened?"_

_"Oh how should I know? My dress cost 200$! And my shoes! They were trampled on in the ru-"_

_"That's all the time we have for now! We'll be right back-"_

The show muted on the ads and Tony himself looked rather successful.

"Those party's were always so boring- no alcohol? Please." He snorted, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a grin.

"That was _you?"_

"Please- it wasn't that hard." Tony smirked, eyes gleaming.

Thor chuckled deeply, eyes looking at Friend Stark who now laughed openly.

Yes, mischief was okay now and again.

x-(X 5 X)-x

Bruce sighed, leaning back on his chair as he watched Tony angrily take up a hammer and bend a sheet of metal, hitting it with a resonating _clang! _With more force then was necessary.

It wasn't exactly Steve's fault, in hindsight, Tony should have seen it coming.

Steve had come down with a plate of sandwiches, having relieved Pepper of her duty of keeping Tony in health. He had walked down, knocking on the glass of the door. Tony- part way through a breakthrough on stopping the plasma discharge from his reactor (Changing it was a _pain)_. Bruce gave a hard kick from the stone side of the room, sliding over on his wheelie chair (Tony declared his 'brainy green giant' needed something with wheels, walking was a pain), and easily opened the door with a flip of the switch. Tony, being paranoid, forbade access to everyone except Bruce and Pepper, him thinking that Thor would break something…again, Steve would erase data on a computer, and the 'ninja duo' would sabotage it for their liking.

"Thanks Bruce." Steve smiled, stepping in and letting Bruce snatch one of the sandwich halves from the top of the plate.

"Watch out- he's made a breakthrough." Bruce warned jokingly, kicking the glass lightly to slide back to his station.

Bruce was faintly aware of Tony making a few retorts before Steve fell prey to the '_What's that?'_ and was now being forced to endure the sometimes agony, of listening to a complicated equation.

"-_So,_ with the changed base inserted the Plasma reacts on a molecular scale-"

"Wait! I'm lost here!" Steve helplessly cried out, Bruce snorting at the lost voice he was using.

"He made a coating to go on the inside of his reactor that neutralizes the Plasma Discharge of his reactor." Bruce called out helpfully, a few more words from Tony, trying to complicate it, no doubt, and Steve laughed, finally getting it.

That's when the accident happened.

Bruce heard the name and spun, looking at now growing pale Steve, as he now realized what he had just said.

"Oh my, I'm _so _sorry Tony- I didn't mean to-"

"Get out." Tony said so quietly, Bruce strained his ears to even hear the words spoken.

"It was an accident! Really-"

"Leave!" Tony shouted, a more direct command that sent Steve hurrying to the door, the plate of sandwiches forgotten.

It was silent after the glass door closed. Bruce turned, keeping a watchful eye on Tony as he stared at his bench, eyes slightly blank as he seemed to be thinking, not saying a single thing.

"It was bound to happen." Bruce found himself saying, mentally kicking himself and ignoring the faint grunt in his mind.

"I never want to be compared to that bastard." Tony hissed after seemingly snapping out of his daze, he met eyes temporarily with Bruce before grabbing a nearby screwdriver and clutching it so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"I _hate_ that man!" Tony screamed, hurling the screwdriver and glaring at it as it smashed into one of his Iron Man posters nearby the T.V.

Bruce sat back, feeling small as Tony grabbed another tool- a wrench- and hurled it again, smashing the mirror above the sink this time.

"I hate him!" He shouted, kicking over the stool he had been sitting on.

"I _hate him! Hate him, hate him, HATE HIM!" _He screamed, grabbing an advanced electronic hammer and breaking he glass barrier to the hallway.

"Jarvis? Lock down all the suits please." Bruce asked very softly, a quiet beep was his response.

"That man deserved to die." Tony seethed, now stalking around his lab, occasionally knocking over things that weren't lethal, and continuing on with his rant.

"Every thing I did just wasn't good enough for him! He was always so busy look for his '_precious Captain America!'_ I hate him so much- why didn't he ever see what I did! Everything I made he'd ignore, just like he ignored me and my mother! I'm glad he's dead!" Tony continued to rant- this time stopping on his fourth journey around the lab, and in a moment, he snatched up the large stool and hurled it through the only remaining panel of glass, shattering that and denting the plaster on the other side.

Bruce swallowed, noticing how Tony's eyes were dilated and his nostrils flared in his anger. He was suddenly very happy the suits were taken care of.

"The worst part is, if he found the Cap while he were still alive, he'd give me up in a heartbeat. Tony Stark, always living in the shadow of his Father to the eyes of the world, and living in the shadow of the Cap to his dad- how I hate Irony." Tony growled, making his way near the broken glass, his shoes making crunching noises as he stepped past the frames, ignoring the stool still lodged in the wall and started up the stairs, no doubt to the training room where he could maul a poor sandbag.

Bruce let out the breath he had been holding, noticing the slightly sparking room, and Dummy in the corner, making use of a fire extinguisher although he had never spotted a flame.

"Jarvis?"

_"Yes Dr. Banner?"_

"How often does this happen?" He found himself asking, looking at the mess in the lab.

"_Events similar to this concur whenever the topic of Howard Stark is brought up."_

"Right." Bruce sighed, wetting his lips slightly. "File that away for everybody on the 'do not speak of' list."

_"Understood."_

Bruce leaned back in his chair, the springs giving a slight groan although it was recently bought for his personal use.

"Seems like Loki isn't the only one with family issues." Bruce sighed, running one hand through his hair, more as a nervous habit then need.

A light fixture groaned, before crashing to the floor, sparking loudly.

Dummy made quick work of the 'fire'.

x-(X +1 X)-x

Fury had called a meeting, pulling each of the Avengers away from the tasks they had been doing. Bruce and Tony had been in the lab, Bruce abandoning it at nightfall although Tony seemed to work all night in a sour mood, eventually trying out his experiment to discover the new alloy for his reactor gave him something similar to 'heartburn'.

Stark was touchy at best, often ignoring the meeting to hack into some national archive for amusement, only paying attention when a location a foe was at was given, then darting off before anyone could stop him. It was a tireless process that Nick Fury had long since gotten used to, however, it wasn't that often when Stark was in a sour mood- in fact Nick Fury had only seen it one other time.

He knew in that one other experience, that a Tony Stark with no leash on his tongue sometimes could hurt more than one of Clint's arrows to the knee.

"Stark! Pay attention!" Fury barked, noticing how the particularly annoyed Tony ignored him completely, continuing to click on his tiny phone, no sound given off.

"Stark! Did you even hear me-"

"Yes, I did, I just didn't see the reason to obey." Tony flipped back casually, continuing to hack away.

Nick Fury stared, as did the others. A casually insult-throwing Tony was easy to respond to, but a suddenly ignoring Stark? That was a puzzle.

"I'll give you a damn reason to obey! Loki attac-"

"Downtown Brooklyn, reported with three antlered monsters, each with green collars." Tony responded, cutting off Fury as he relayed all that Fury had been able to find.

The team blinked, fully expecting Stark to say something relating to _'Now Rudolph has friends!" _Or something more witty along those lines. They stared as he calmly continued to click away on his phone.

"They get your metal ass down there!" Fury shouted, fists curling as he glared with his one eye, jaw tight as he refrained from shouting anything else.

"I don't see a reason why we should as we always are capable of stopping Loki without harm to others. What could a few minutes help us, instead of relaxation and preparation?" Tony said back, teeth locked tightly together as he gave a mocking smile to Fury.

Fury swallowed, continuing to glare before he momentarily looked at everyone else, Steve's stunned face, Bruce's calm and sympathetic, Natasha's calculating, Thor's confusion, and Clint's annoyance.

"You know Stark, just because we have to take down Loki, doesn't mean that you're allowed to act like him." Clint growled, standing up and yanking the door open hard enough for the door stopper to slam into the wood framing, denting it slightly.

"See you in Brooklyn." Natasha nodded, standing up and marching out, Steve and Bruce following quickly for an escape, Thor following because the others had left.

Fury sighed, taking the back door out of the room, leaving Stark at the table, phone long since forgotten, breathing sharply with fingers pressed to his temple.

Stark knew that only Fury and Pepper knew that he tended to act like a certain god, even before Tony had met him.

At times, Tony _really _hated Loki- not because he was an evil magic using god, but because he was a damn clever, manipulative, solo working genius.

Tony hated him because he was _too _similar to the god.


End file.
